Owais Gul
Srinagar, Sep 19 : All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary and former Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Chief, Ghulam Ahmad Mir termed the Tihar Jail as a training centre, alleging it is no longer just a jail but a place where people are trained to divide others on the ground.
In an exclusive interaction with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), he also said that Jamaat-e-Islami’s decision to participate in the elections is not self-motivated.
Mir, who is the joint candidate of the National Conference and Congress from the Dooru assembly segment, added that the decisions made against the aspirations of the people over the last ten years, especially in the last five years, have created silence all around, while the government has been calling it normalcy. “The large number of people turning up at the polling booths is anger against the government decisions. It is a beautiful way of showing anger, which otherwise would have been expressed through guns and stones,” he said.
Asked about Jamaat-e-Islami’s decision to participate in the elections, the AICC General Secretary said if it were their own decision, they would not have stayed away from the polls for three decades. “But, since it has been exposed that the government has been experimenting with different parties like A, B, C, D, and now E and F as well, it seems that the decision of JeI is not self-motivated, but rather there seems to be either support or pressure from the government or a compulsion. JeI’s participation in the polls doesn’t look natural,” he said.
However, he added that Congress has always welcomed people who want to come forward through constitutional or democratic processes. “Choosing the path of rebellion is not the solution. Those with an understanding of it had earlier joined the mainstream, but those with less understanding are now participating in the democratic process, which they should have done earlier,” he said.
In response to a query about Awami Ittehad Party’s (AIP) Chief, Engineer Rashid’s release, he said, “Everything is organised, and there is no doubt about it. Such happenings have been going on for the last ten years. Who is to be tortured by the ED, NIA, and other agencies, and who is to be used, is being decided accordingly.”
Mir added, “Er Rashid is a political victim under political vendetta. He first became a victim by getting arrested earlier, and later, after his release, it is a surrender with connections from behind the scenes. The timing of his release is questionable. Nobody would have raised any questions if he had been released a year ago. He was released just a few days ahead of the polls, which shows it is organised. If it is a politically motivated decision, the people will respond accordingly.”
Furthermore, Mir termed New Delhi’s Tihar Jail as a training centre, alleging that it is the place where individuals are trained to divide people. “It is not a jail anymore; the people in Tihar are being trained to abuse the government in order to gain support and divide the people,” he said, adding that the BJP has been trying hard to divide the votes to ensure a hung house for their own safety, thereby joining hands with A, B, C teams and also sponsored individuals. “Such decisions could have serious repercussions in Jammu and Kashmir as the BJP has been dividing people on every front,” he said.
Regarding the pre-poll alliance, Mir said the decision was made for the well-being of the people and Jammu & Kashmir, adding that they did not consider numbers but took the decision for the well-being of the people, which includes the restoration of statehood.
Asked about the expectations in the assembly polls, the Congress leader said he is aiming for 65 seats in this election as the votes are transferring on the ground. “Unlike in 2014, when the BJP had prior support from the PDP, no major party in Kashmir is ready to go with the BJP to form the next government. However, there are five small parties that may win up to five seats and join the BJP, but that is not going to help the BJP in forming the next government,” he said, adding that the people are aware and would not cast their votes in favour of BJP-associated parties.
Reacting to the statements of alliance leaders, Mir said it would not have any impact on the coalition at all. “The pact is so strong that the parties did not consider numbers. We had earlier planned to share 30 seats each for the NC and Congress and have a friendly contest on 30 seats, but thankfully, it was reduced to five seats only, where both parties have strong candidates, and the BJP was nowhere in sight,” he added.
Asked about the NC’s decision to pass a resolution in the assembly after forming the government, he said it has already been decided. “We are already aiming for a respectable mandate. Our priority will be to discuss the decision taken on August 5, 2019, as the decisions were made in the absence of the assembly. It will be discussed in the assembly, where we can raise the voice that the decisions were taken undemocratically and unconstitutionally. This is the point from where the process for the restoration of statehood will start. All of the Congress party’s top leaders have made it clear that statehood would be restored at the earliest. If PM Modi does not do it, then Congress’s first action will be the restoration of statehood after forming the government,” he said.
Reacting to the statements of BJP leaders, where they mentioned that Congress cannot give statehood to J&K, the former JKPCC chief said, “The BJP isn’t even able to give statehood, as the new government that took over earlier this year is on crutches, while the INDIA alliance is much more powerful. However, there has been a commitment from the PM that after delimitation, elections and the restoration of statehood will be completed, and if he fails to do so, then the people will understand that the government has failed to fulfil its commitments.”
AICC General Secretary, while responding to a query about the possibilities of joining hands with the PDP to form the government, said that they do not expect a fractured mandate this time, but if the need arises, the decision will be taken accordingly. “We were planning to fight against the BJP together with like-minded parties, but some people could not make it happen and are now fighting independently,” he said.
He said the staunch workers of the National Conference (NC) have followed the directions of the party’s high command by favouring and supporting joint candidates from the Congress party, while those who are not actual supporters are not paying heed to the party’s directions.
“The people, in general, are in favour of this alliance,” Mir said, adding that the drums are ready to bang on the day of election results in Jammu & Kashmir—(KNO)
